Ephesians 4:11-16
"And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ— from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love."
Have these scriptures been removed from modern day translations of the bible? It certainly seems so to me!
What we see today in the buildings that are called 'church', has no resemblance whatsoever to the first century church, and the ministry gifts that Jesus Himself gave to His body are essentially non-existent in many congregations of professing Christians.
Did Jesus revoke His gifts to equip the saints for the work of the ministry?
Did He change the way He wants His church to function?
The scripture tells us, that Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forever.
So that means man has done the changing and exchanged the truth of God for a lie!
Many religious leaders today have done exactly what the Pharisees and Sadducees did during the time of Jesus' ministry. They have nullified the commands of God by their traditions!
Some believe that there are no more true apostles or prophets today, if that's true, then there are no more true evangelists, pastors, and teachers!
Sadly, those who oversee God's flock in many denominations and ministries have not been holding to the teachings of Jesus Christ, nor do they hold their congregations accountable to what's clearly written in the scriptures they read every Sunday!
The first century church was blessed by the plurality of overseers who loved the saints and fought for them, laying down their lives daily to see them grow and mature in Christ.
2nd Corinthians 3:1-6
"Do we begin again to commend ourselves? Or do we need, as some others, epistles of commendation to you or letters of commendation from you? You are our epistle written in our hearts, known and read by all men; clearly you are an epistle of Christ, ministered by us, written not with ink but by the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of flesh, that is, of the heart.
Did He change the way He wants His church to function?
The scripture tells us, that Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forever.
So that means man has done the changing and exchanged the truth of God for a lie!
Many religious leaders today have done exactly what the Pharisees and Sadducees did during the time of Jesus' ministry. They have nullified the commands of God by their traditions!
Some believe that there are no more true apostles or prophets today, if that's true, then there are no more true evangelists, pastors, and teachers!
Sadly, those who oversee God's flock in many denominations and ministries have not been holding to the teachings of Jesus Christ, nor do they hold their congregations accountable to what's clearly written in the scriptures they read every Sunday!
The first century church was blessed by the plurality of overseers who loved the saints and fought for them, laying down their lives daily to see them grow and mature in Christ.
2nd Corinthians 3:1-6
"Do we begin again to commend ourselves? Or do we need, as some others, epistles of commendation to you or letters of commendation from you? You are our epistle written in our hearts, known and read by all men; clearly you are an epistle of Christ, ministered by us, written not with ink but by the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of flesh, that is, of the heart.
And we have such trust through Christ toward God. Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think of anything as being from ourselves, but our sufficiency is from God, who also made us sufficient as ministers of the new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life."
The first century apostles, prophets and elders, knew that nothing came from themselves, they received their ministry and strength from God.
The first century apostles, prophets and elders, knew that nothing came from themselves, they received their ministry and strength from God.
The time of the one man show is ending, the hand writing is on the wall, and the Lord said to my wife a few years ago:
"The Little Ones Will Be Great And The Great Will Disappear".
"The Little Ones Will Be Great And The Great Will Disappear".
In Jesus,
Tyrone
